The Rogue Prince of Persia [REVIEW] – Revived Roguelike Royalty

I’ll always appreciate the physical release of a title, and despite hearing endless praise since the game first hit early access a couple of years back, it took physical publisher U&I Entertainment launching a boxed copy to finally give me the excuse I needed to dive into The Rogue Prince of Persia. And honestly? I’m kicking myself for waiting this long. Developed by Evil Empire, the same studio that helped shape the brilliant post-launch life of Dead Cells, this title acts as a spectacular spiritual successor that injects the classic Ubisoft franchise with a hefty dose of addictive, time-looping chaos.

Check out some screenshots down below:

In a genre that doesn’t always put the narrative in the forefront, the setup here is surprisingly engaging. You step into the shoes of an overly confident Prince who accidentally brings about a devastating invasion of his beloved city, Tisfun, by dark magic-infused Huns. Luckily, he just so happens to be armed with a magical bola from his childhood that rewinds time the moment he dies, and of course, this is where the game cleverly intertwines story with the typical ‘die-and-retry’ gameplay loop.

Through a system known as the Mindmap, you are encouraged to explore different branching paths to piece together clues, solve environmental puzzles, and locate missing characters – as you rescue people, they populate your base camp, known as the Oasis. Chatting with them between runs unlocks fresh lore, new outfits, and essential gear, meaning that dying never feels like a frustrating reset, but rather a necessary step forward.

It helps it nail that roguelite formula perfectly, all whilst delivering an action-platforming experience that feels equally riveting. The traversal mechanics are fantastic, with the Prince incredibly agile and able to pull off all sorts of fancy manoeuvres with absolute ease – something that’s boosted by the fact that the controls are finely tuned, ensuring that every acrobatic feat quickly becomes second nature to pull off with quick buttons presses. It feels sublime, whilst your momentum is further encouraged by the Vayu’s Breath mechanic, which rewards you with temporary speed boosts and passive buffs for seamlessly chaining your parkour moves together. If you thought that the Prince felt great to control in previous games, believe me, The Rogue Prince of Persia really ups the ante.

“We might not be getting the 3D return of the iconic Prince any time soon, but if we keep getting top notch releases like this, the legacy will certainly live on.“

This fluidity also bleeds perfectly into the combat system, and armed with a melee primary weapon and a ranged secondary tool, the Prince is a nimble fighter who relies on speed and timing to survive. If I’m being honest, he is a bit of a glass cannon – especially early on – so even the most simple of encounters can mean the end if you aren’t too careful. To balance this out, the game heavily pushes you to use the environment to your advantage – whether you are executing a devastating plunging attack from above, hurdling over guards to strike their backs, or kicking foes into one another to shatter their shields, the skirmishes are delightfully creative and blisteringly fast. And sure, the standard enemy types can feel a little bit repetitive across the various biomes, but the boss encounters are absolute standouts that demand a masterful blend of your platforming and fighting skills to survive. They made each run feel dramatic, ESPECIALLY when you manage to beat a boss who caused issues earlier on.

To help you survive brutal encounters with foes, there is a robust progression system that helps maintain a sense of character development. It’s actually dual-layered: on one side, you have horizontal progression, where resources gathered during runs can be spent to add new weapons and elemental trinkets to your randomised loot pool, whilst on the other side is vertical progression via permanent skill trees, where unlocking flat stat boosts, extra health potions, and so forth give you a fresh advantage.

Despite the game’s tricky combat, it is worth noting that genre veterans might chew through the core campaign rather quickly, perhaps wrapping up the initial ending in around ten hours. Thankfully, an endgame difficulty modifier system is present to turn up the heat for those seeking a stiffer challenge, but if I’m being honest, I felt satisfied with that runtime. It didn’t run out of steam or get repetitive… it felt just right.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Presentation-wise, the game is a treat, with it benefiting from a massive overhaul since its early access days – it boasts a vibrant, comic book aesthetic with distinct colour palettes that breathe life into each biome you traverse through. Every sword swing and vault is brought to life by stunning animation work, and it’s all backed by a brilliant soundtrack that fits the tone of the experience perfectly. Playing on the Nintendo Switch 2, the game runs at a rock-solid 60fps in both docked and handheld modes, with it shining brightly as a portable experience – even IF the loading times between levels are a tiny bit longer than what you might find on other platforms.

Developer: Evil Empire
Publisher: Ubisoft, U&I Entertainment
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch 2 (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC
Website: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/The-Rogue-Prince-of-Persia–2983572.html